On April 28th at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas what is probably the most stacked All Womens MMA fight card ever will take place. Headlined with the return of former Strikeforce Bantamweight Champion, Marloes Coenen takes on submission specialist Romy Ruyssen in a rematch 4 years in the making. In the co-main event 1-time Bellator fighter Jessica Penne takes on Bellator veteran Lisa Ellis-Ward. Other notables include former Strikeforce title challenger Liz Carmouche, the debut of 2008 Freestyle Wrestling Bronze Medalist Randi Miller and rising star Ashley Smashley Cummins.

Distribution of this event has not yet been determined, hopefully HDNET, but a live stream would do. I cannot wait.

Here is the rest of the card:

Main Card

135: Marloes Coenen(19-5) vs. Romy Ruyssen(5-1)

105: Jessica Penne(8-1) vs. Lisa Ellis-Ward(14-7)

135: Liz Carmouche(5-2) vs. Ashleigh Curry(1-0)

135: Sarah D’Alelio(4-2) vs. Shana Nelson(5-2)

135: Leslie Smith(3-2) vs. Kaitlin Young(6-5)

115: Sally Krumdiack(9-4) vs. Sarah Schneider(5-5)

Preliminary Card

105: Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc(7-5) vs. Amy Davis(2-2)

125: Sarah Maloy(2-2) vs. Michele Gutierrez(3-1)

145: Mollie Estes(0-1) vs. Randi Miller(0-0)

115: Ashley Cummins(2-0) vs. Sofia Bagherdai(4-1)

105: Jessica Philippus(0-0) vs. Meghan Wright(1-3)

So in anticipation of the most important female fight ever I’ve decided that Ronda needs some t-shirts. Not the weird flaming skulls shit people wear during their entrances, but more toned down shirts. And not those silly sponsors shirts either. Miesha happens to already have a pretty cool Punishment ‘Girls kick ass’ shirt, so Ronda has some catching up to do.

I’m not an artist or designer, I can’t even draw a circle properly. I’ve never designed shirts before, but with a can-do attitude I fashioned up some Ronda Rousey shirts. Hopefully it will get the ball rolling and real artists or designers, or whoever the fuck makes shirts will get an idea for one.

So here are my 7 attempted Ronda shirts:

#1 - Rowdy

#2 - Olympic rings

#3 - Throws like a girl

#4 - Death. Taxes. Rousey by armbar.

#5 - HotRond!

#6 - Real Muthaphuckkin Gi

#7 - Rousey

As you can see I’m a hack and don’t know what I’m doing. LEARN 2 ART! Still though, maybe it’ll prompt someone to make a legit shirt.

If you have any ideas for shirts let me know. And let me know which designs have the most promise.

Mahalo.

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See the original here

This weekend leaves another bit of breathing space between UFC events and gives everyone a chance to concentrate on smaller fights and promotions. One great fight to look out for is between Jessica Aguilar and Patricia Vidonic and that goes down as part of Fight Time Promotions 8 in Florida. It does not look like we will be able to catch the fight live on TV (although if anyone knows of a way to do so, please hit the comments section), but this is a fight that you ought to find a way to see.

Jessica Aguilar is currently the consensus ranked number two 115lb fighter in the world and a big name in women's MMA. Unfortunately, given that Bellator, the biggest home of the 115lb division in the US, puts on female fights quite irregularly, Aguilar needs to fill her schedule out with smaller shows. That is great news for Patricia Vidonic though, as she gets the chance to test out her five fight win streak against by far the toughest opponent she is yet to face.

Recent History

• Jessica Aguilar has won 7 of her last 8 fights, only dropping a close split decision to Zoila Gurgel.

• Her most recent win was at Bellator 58 against highly ranked Lisa Ellis-Ward.

• Patricia Vidonic is on a five fight win streak, with her last three wins coming by submission.

Styles

Jessica Aguilar is a fun fighter to watch. She is a stocky and powerful fighter with technical boxing, powerful takedowns and slick submissions. She is developing noticeably with every fight she takes. Before her loss to Gurgel, she had an indomitably powerful style and produced some great submission and knock out finishes, but since then has become a bit of a decision machine. This is probably a combination of a more careful approach and a step up in competition.
Here's a video of Jessica Aguilar highlights to show the power and aggression she is capable of.

Patricia Vidonic may not have such a big name in women's MMA, but her momentum is certainly growing as she dedicates herself full time to the sport. As you would imagine from a fighter with three submission wins in a row, Patricia has an awesome ground game. In round one of her fight with Lacey Schuckman (check out the video below and follow the links for rounds two and three), Vidonic shows she has a slick, calm guard as she placidly deals with slams and strikes to keep throwing up submissions. The fight involves lots of great scrambles against a clearly powerful opponent and Vidonic deals with it impressively. Her rear naked choke finish was a smooth and opportunistic as you like.

Head to Head

Realistically Aguilar has the advantage in terms of experience, this is by far the sternest test of Vidonic's career. That being said, Vidonic has proven a calm and calculating fighter and may well deal with the pressure and occassion. In terms of skill sets, it just seems like Aguilar has more ways to win. She has learnt recently how to grind out decisions over tough opponents, she has knocked people out with nice boxing and she has a good ground game of her own.
Prediction

Jessica Aguilar by TKO, round 2.

Why watch?

OK, you might not get a chance to watch this one live unless you are really lucky go to the show. You should try and find it after the event somewhere online though, because it promises to be a great fight. When you have a powerful fighter like Aguilar squaring off against a wily fighter like Vidonic fun scrambles often ensue.

This post originally came from jiMMA, so head over there if you want more.

There's something beautiful about the set of rules used for Mixed Martial Arts in Asia. Maybe it's the five minute optional break after an eye poke that we so desperately need under the Unified Rules. Maybe its the ability to kick and knee to the head while on the ground, effectively eliminating that stupid "My hand is on the floor, you can't knee me in the face" loophole (not to mention simultaneously making North-South the bee's knees and making Jon Fitch the deadliest man alive). Maybe it's the fact that an Asian guy can win a decision fighting in a cage. I don't know. But I like it.

What I also like is ONE FC- Asia's premier MMA organization. Jakarta held 2012's first event with Filipino Ole Laurson taking on Japan's Felipe Enomoto. Talk about a good fight. I could break down the fight, and talk about who's a champion in what discipline prior to entering MMA, but you're probably going to look that up after watching this fight. It's a fun one.

(via OneFCMMA)

Ronda Rousey vs Miesha Tate is the first female MMA bout to headline a Strikeforce card since Gina Carano's massive fight against Cris "Cyborg" Santos in 2009. While this is clearly an exciting time for women's MMA there are many issues around the fight's origin and promotion that are to the detriment of the growth of the female divisions. There are many disappointing things about the making and marketing of this fight including the timing, the reasoning and promoting the fight based on looks. As well as the sport and fans missing out, Sarah Kaufman is the clear victim of Strikeforce (and their parent company ZUFFA) grabbing some quick cash from one big fight, rather than carefully and fairly building a sustainable, competitive division.

Timing

Ronda Rousey is an undeniably talented fighter with a background as an elite athlete elsewhere. Her leap to fightMiesha Tate is not as astronomical as it would be for most fighters with a 4-0 record against mostly lower level opposition. However, she has previously only fought at 145 pounds and it is pretty reasonable to expect her to either fight for the title in her own division or spend some time paying her dues and climbing the ranks in her new division. This is not just about what is fair, but also what it means for the division.

135 pounds is generally considered the strongest division in women's MMA. With Rousey cutting weight to join it and Cyborg Santos sure to follow when her suspension is complete, as well as new talent coming through, it promises to become even stronger. There is a division there to build. By catapulting Rousey through the rankings of her new division, Strikeforce have sent the message that there is no real female 135 pounds division. There are no internal rankings, contender spots nor progress to be made. They have indicated that women's MMA is good for one off super fights that draw big numbers, but not worthy of being promoted properly.

The Rousey vs Tate fight is a good fight. Both combatants have exciting styles and are top athletes. But you ought not to rush a fighter into contendership, you should build them up, nurture them, test them against better opposition and when they have proved ready, you can give them a title shot.

Promotion of looks over skills

As Ronda Rousey spent her time pushing for this fight, she spent most of it openly drawing on the looks of her and her opponent as the selling point. She was worried the fight may never happen and, since a fight between two pretty girls is very marketable, she wanted it to happen as soon as possible. For the future of women's MMA, this seems pretty damning.

As a female fighter, it seems very short sighted to reduce your division to a beautiful sideshow. I understand why Ronda feels the need to make the most out of her career while she can, it just does not reflect well on her female colleagues. There is a great division of fighters there. Tate and Rousey are great athletes, each with their own story and representing wrestling and Judo respectively. That is already marketable.

Finally, it is terrible for the future of the weight class, not to mention astonishingly unfair, that the decision over who gets promoted in a division is based on looks. Unless this is soon put right, no female fighter will know what they fight for from bout to bout, unsure as to whether a prettier girl will take her place. It also means that female MMA will get bogged down deeper in this mire of dependency on looks as women play more and more on their beauty to get noticed.

Sarah Kaufman's Title Shot

Sarah Kaufman was very much in line for a title shot before Ronda Rousey pushed her way to the front of the queue by doing her best Chael Sonnen impression. Kaufman was on an impressive twelve fight win streak, including a win against the current 135 pounds champion Miesha Tate, untill she was beaten by Marloes Coenen. Since then she has won two in a row, the most recent against highly ranked Liz Carmouche. In light of her record, her bouncing back with two wins and her history with Tate, there was a clear reason to give her a title shot. The disappointment for Kaufman when it became clear that Rousey had taken her spot, must have been extraordinary. Here is what she thinks about it all:

Kaufman and Davis' Place On the Card

Adding insult to injury, Kaufman found herself on the same card as the championship bout, but as a preliminary fight. Can you imagine if, upon missing out on his shot at Georges Saint-Pierre, Carlos Condit had fought Josh Kosheck on the undercard? There would have been uproar.

This is not just unfair on Sarah Kaufman. Strikeforce has become the most prominent US promotion for women's mixed martial arts. Its men's divisions are rapidly becoming devalued as, before ZUFFA negotiated a new deal with Showtime, it ferried a lot of the top talent over to the UFC. What Strikeforce has left are some top male fighters in some very shallow divisions and an under promoted but potential-rich female division at 135 pounds.

Having made the decision to put together the Tate vs Rousey fight, Strikeforce had a golden opportunity to showcase a couple of other great fighters from that division and build a new contender for the winner. Instead, they have shown their intention to milk as much as possible from a one off fight between Rousey and Tate and buried another potential star on the preliminary card. This does not show a great commitment to female MMA and that is disappointing. It is also particularly short sighted since Women's MMA could well be Strikeforce's biggest asset going forward.

If you are not sure that these two fighters will put on a show worthy of the main card, check out the videos below.

Sarah Kaufman vs. Roxanne Modafferi KO Body Slam (via MMAMatosinhos)

Alexis Davis vs Amanda Nunes full fight (via Chinoandharykrakhead)

Sarah Kaufman was the most obvious choice to challenge Miesha Tate for the Strikeforce 135 pounds title. Ronda Rousey has cleverly talked her way into title contention. Rousey is clearly a great athlete and will probably prove to be a tough and talented fighter. But her quick ascension to title contender in a new weight class is not a good move for the future of her division. Moreover the treatment of Sarah Kaufman then and previously, has shown Strikeforce to be decidedly short sighted, not to mention unfair.

This was originally posted at JIMMA. Click below for more from me about WMMA.

Women's Flyweight (115lb) Division - Who's who?
MMA: There's nowhere to hide from gender equality

They roll/grapple at the end of the video. 59:14

Ronda-centric highlights in this long-ass video.

1:14 : Backstage at the Joe Rogan podcast with HONDA HOUSEY

39:43 : Ronda in a 2010 grappling match... good shit.

40:15 : Renato Laranja(this dude is pretty funny) making Ronda hot for him

46:47 : Another Ronda 2010 grappling match... more good shit

57:57 : Ronda ... grappling... 2010. Wooooo.

In between time slots are Eddie Bravo teaching his students(Ronda being one of them). He really is passionate and inspiring. Very enthusiastic teacher.

Após 6 anos de dedicação ao amor e ao felicidade do casamento, gostaria de informar que desde o mês de dezembro de 2011 eu e Evangelista Cyborg estamos vivendo nossas vidas separadamente.
Gostaria de agradecer todos os amigos pelas palavra de carinho e apoio neste período.
Por mais que pareça difícil nunca abandone seus sonhos ou desacredite no amor!
Um abraço,
Cris

In English:

After six years of dedication to the love and happiness of marriage, I would like to inform you that as of December 2011 Evangelista Cyborg and I are living our lives separately.
I would like to thank all friends for their words of love and support during this period.
As hard as it may seem never abandon your dreams or stop believing in the power of love!
Xx
Cris

I once heard some feminist give a quote that was quite relevant to the female divisions in MMA:

When put in the context of MMA, we’re left to ponder if women can afford to be boring. Do female fighters have to be more exciting than the men in order to get noticed?

I’d have to say yes. Strikeforce only has one female fight every other card most times, which simply isn’t enough to get a feel for whether women or exciting or not.

When tuning into a UFC ppv people see 5-10 fights. Not all of them are exciting. There are some unfortunate events where entire cards are snoozefests. Of course no UFC fan watches a bad card and proclaims all of MMA to be boring. They just got unlucky with a bad night of fights.

Most UFC fans haven’t even seen 5-10 women’s fights. To see the same amount of fights on one UFC card a fan would’ve had to watch a year of Strikeforce. Here’s been their last 10 women’s fights

December 17, 2011 Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal — Cyborg vs. Yamanaka. It lasted 0:16.

Strikeforce Challengers 20 — Rousey vs. Budd. It lasted a fun 0:39.

Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov — Davis vs. Nunes. A scrappy but average fight.

Strikeforce Challengers 18 — Rousey vs. D’Alelio

Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson — Coenen vs. Tate. A boring fight with a fun finish. Also Davis vs. Kedzie

Strikeforce Challengers 17 — Carmouche vs. Kaufman

Strikeforce Challengers 16 — Randamie vs Budd

Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson — Coenen vs. Carmouche

January 29, 2011 Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg — Randamie vs. Webber

As you can see, most fans only get to see 10 womens fights in almost a year, whereas they’ll see 10 fights on a single card in the UFC.

If an entire 10 fight UFC card is boring, you’re disappointed but there’s another one on in a week or two. Pretty soon you’ll see some good fights. But in women’s MMA, you could conceivable go an entire year without seeing an exciting women’s fight. No wonder so many people have the vague impression of women’s MMA not being as exciting.

With such a small amount of exposure it’s vital that women put on exciting and memorable fights. As it stands, each fight is going to have a lasting impression on fans, and so until women are put in the UFC and have a couple fights every show, people aren’t going to go out of their way to watch female fights if the last one they saw was boring.

Original post at blog here

Hey folks, it's here! The Southpaw Striking Guide is my commitment to putting together the most comprehensive free material on fighting as or against a southpaw.

With the growing number of southpaws coming to kickboxing, boxing and MMA it is unacceptable that their is such a dearth of material available on the web or in print and www.fightsgoneby.com is committed to changing that.

http://www.fightsgoneby.com/2012/01/southpaw-striking-guide-part-1-advanced.html

Please head over and if you like it:
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As always, all feedback is welcome and encouraged!

Cheers,
Jack Slack

Hey ladies (and some gents I'm sure),

Am currently reworking my site, so it's a little messy at the moment, but I wanted to advertise my newest post a little. It's basically a reading list for strikers, only the first part mind you - there is plenty more to be said. You might have read all of them but I would love to hear in the comments how you feel about my first choices, and what you would recommend to a young beginner or a veteran striker alike.

http://www.fightsgoneby.com/2012/01/strikers-reading-list-part-1.html

Also, please notice my swanky new domain name www.fightsgoneby.com

Bookmark me and add me on twitter @JackSlackMMA

Cheers,

Jack